It is that time of year again. The annual release of the Penfolds Bin range. Yesterday I was lucky enough to get a sneak peak of the entire range plus a few little extras. We are now starting to see some of the 2008 season’s fruit come through in some of the wines. Overall I think Penfolds’ fastidious vineyard management prevented any damage to the grapes and they have come out with great intensity and wonderfully ripe flavours.
The 2008 Coonawarra Bin 128 Shiraz is a great example. It is a deep, dark purple and quite restrained on the nose with initial hints of tobacco followed by hints of mulberry & spice. The palate is blackberries lifting into subtle spice. The fine tannins are intense yet elegant. There is good length with a little olive in there.
As a shiraz it is very good, as a 2008 Coonawarra shiraz it is bloody good. The tannins just made me want to mop up a thick black jus with a bit of aged beef and guzzle a mouthful of 128 to cut right through my palate.
I will release a quick review on each of the wines so stay tuned. It is an exciting release and it may be worth trying to get hold of a few bottles of selected varieties. I will also keep you posted on the upcoming release of Grange, St Henri & Bin 707 in April.
